I was looking at a pre 64 Model 70 in 30-06 last night. With a 2xxxxx serial number, I believe this is a 1952 or 53 gun. The barrel is short, appearing to have been cut. There is no front sight, and only the base for the rear sight is there. I do not recall any butt pad. Wood and metal appear to be in good shape and the gun comes from a collection that appears to have been well taken care of.

First, let me say that I am only interested in the gun for the action.

A couple of questions:

The wing safety did not seem to catch in the middle position. It moved right into the fire position. If this is a three position safety, there seems to be a problem. Did Winchester ever use anything other than a 3 position safety on the model 70?

What else should I be looking for in a rifle of this age, keeping in mind that my interest is the action only?

What are rough estimates of value?

Thanks,

is it a 1954 or prewar?? prewar means before ww2. by the sounds of it i would thing 600 range

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
is it a 1954 or prewar?? prewar means before ww2. by the sounds of it i would thing 600 range

Duh! Edited.

I recently purchase a similar rifle in 30-06. Stock finish was rough, a pad was added, metal ok. I paid $600, also for a donor but I may hunt with it for awhile as I have several projects ahead of it. Shoots and functions like dream.

Is the safety a transition type or does it have the turned down wing? I gave my Transition 270 to my son-in-law so can't check and actually don't remember. I disliked the sharp edge the transition safety had and often thought of changing it out .They are very nice actions to me. My 06 is on a prewar model and only thing I wish I could find is an old Wismer replacement safety for it that moved it to the other side.

1. I have not seen or even heard of a Model 70 with anything but a 3-position safety. There was a Model (670 maybe?) from the 70's or 80's that was a cheap version of the push feed that had a 2-position safety.
2. I am always suspicious of altered rifles. There are a lot of bubbas out there who should be forbidden to own a screwdriver or pliers.
3. I haven't followed the pre-64 market for a few years but, being the skinflint I am, $600 would be more than I would pay.

you are in the ball park $$$-wise.

Cabela's in Boise has a pretty clean rifle for $700. It's only issue is that the original barrel was replaced with a later version barrel in 300WM.
With the new/old models retailing at $1500 the price of OMs is creeping back up a little.

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
The wing safety did not seem to catch in the middle position. It moved right into the fire position.

Did it even feel like it wanted to catch? In other words, is there a slight detent there you can feel that is just too badly worn to hold, or does it feel like it runs smoothly all the way through as if it is an intentional two position safety?

I've never heard of a two position Winchester safety, and if it is that badly worn it could be a warning sign of very hard use...

Regarding the safety, it is the three position style, same as what I have on half a dozen New Haven rifles. As I pushed the safety forward,it totally slid thru the middle position without a hint of stopping, catching, or hanging.

Some mod. 70 pre 64 have "looser" safetys than other, but it can be fixed..Win. never put a 2 pos. safety on a mod. 70 pre 64..

The underneath of the barrel should have a date such as 53 or 54 etc and thats the original date of production, 1952 and 53 actions are deemded the best of the lot, but I never could see much difference..

I would think your gun is basically and action. The action is worth $400 to $500, and if its a magnum then a $100 more. You could pay a bit more for the complete gun because the stock is probably worth a $100, unless its a clover leaf tang pre war then the stock is worth $200..The barrel may be worth $50 to a $100..All ball park figures as I don't have the gun in hand to inspect, but that's about what I pay for them.

Also pre war guns bring a premium, but you also have to change out the safty to make them scope friendly, and that's fairly expensive.

Wisner used to sell a copy of the Tilden safety conversion lever for pre-war rifles. It wasn't expensive at all IIRC.

Will, on a custom build, the safety may likely be replaced anyway, or at least worked on.

Wisner safetys are hard to come by, and Tildens evern harder, but I got a Wisner time ago and I found a pre 64 mod 70 safety and bolt shroud complete, and it can be made to work on a mod 54 also. you will really have to shop around.

Ive never heard of replacing a safety on a mod. 70, custom, it has the best safety and trigger out there.

I have transition model in the shop now. It will have a new Ed Lapour three position fitted, he makes a very good replacement for the older ones.

I agree $5-600.

But I'm confused about the shroud. The type of lever is irrelevent on a Pre War shroud. Do you have a square or round top bolt shroud with the wing, Tilden or (post) bar lever? If so, someone has already swapped out the original Post War round top for the Pre War square top shroud (regardless of the lever)- not an uncommon thing.

Tilden safeties are going for $100 for the lever alone on eBay- I've been tempted top sell one of mine. If you have the flat topped Pre War shroud. I'd be more than happy to trade you a Post War shroud as I have 2 extra bolts lying around.

If it's a round topped you can just replace the lever- easy, quick and inexpensive. I've seen those go in the $20 or so range. Good luck.

Could be the tip of the safety plunger pin is worn and does not engage the detent. The safety itself may be fine. Also, the plunger spring might be weak and unable to push the pin into the detent. Or, the pin and spring might be frozen in place by rust and not moving--does the bolt lock when the safety is fully back? There's no way to tell for sure unless you disassemble it.

Regarding value of actions, you used to be able to buy a post-war action in excellent condition for $500-$600 but now many go for more--demand is very high.

I have a pretty good stock of Pre-64 M70 parts. If anyone is looking for parts, please send a private message.